THOUGHTS ON THE CONSCIOUS USE OF BERLIN TAP WATER
THOUGHTS ON THE CONSCIOUS USE OF BERLIN TAP WATER
What is the quality of Berlin's drinking water? Should it be filtered? And if so: Which technology is the best? Water expert Thomas Hartwig explores these and other questions.
When you read the many negative media reports and statements from water filter providers about residues of hormones, medicines and heavy metals in tap water, you quickly get the feeling that our tap water is unsafe and dangerous. However, this creates a completely negative picture and you emotionally distance yourself from our most important source of life. On the other hand, you can find reports about the much better quality of tap water compared to bottled water. Conflicting advertising messages from the mineral water industry, filter system providers and water suppliers are increasingly unsettling consumers. This article aims to encourage a conscious approach to our water and at the same time convey a holistic picture of the situation in order to be able to act accordingly.
How good is our tap water in Berlin?
It is said that our water is the most controlled food product in Germany. But what does that mean? It means that in Germany, no food product is subject to more testing parameters by lawmakers than our tap water. The reality is that 56 different substances in the water are examined. If all parameters are below the specified limit, the water can be fed into the municipal supply. The question now is: How many substances could potentially be in the water? After all, there are currently over 50,000 prescription drugs on the market in Germany alone1,2. For most of the active ingredients they contain, there are no mandatory limits for tap water that must be checked and adhered to. In addition, there are residues from industry and agriculture, as well as microplastics from cosmetic products, which together result in the same number of potential pollutants again – and tap water is also not tested for these. This means that less than 0.1 per mille of the possible contaminants in the water are tested. That is equivalent to almost nothing. On the website of the Berliner Wasserbetriebe (Berlin Waterworks), you can also read in the analyses that, on average, twelve residues of different medications and X-ray contrast agents can currently be found in Berlin's water.3
Nevertheless, our testing parameters are among the strictest in Europe, and in Germany, we enjoy water quality that people in many countries around the world can only dream of. Germany is also rich in fresh water. So, we have neither water scarcity nor is our water undrinkable. Therefore, it is important to realize that when we discuss the question of water quality, we are addressing a luxury problem of our society. People in a developing country would not be bothered by a few residues of medication, as their water is generally in an undrinkable or sickening state. Moreover, we are talking about a self-inflicted dilemma that has largely arisen from our lifestyle. It is therefore not very productive to complain about the water supply companies because they do not properly filter out our own dirt. Rather, it is about installing additional protection against the pollutants contained in tap water and checking our own consumer behavior.
How do I protect the water?
As already mentioned, many of the undesirable residues in the water are caused by our lifestyle. Residues of microplastics largely come from cosmetic and cleaning products. These substances enter the groundwater through showering and washing clothes. Switching to biodegradable products from the organic market here sustainably improves water quality. This reduces the “dirt” that I later have to filter out of the water. Hormone and drug residues are also a self-made problem due to high drug consumption. So, if we avoid medication, consistently use organic cleaners and cosmetics, and make sure to buy food that is produced with less chemicals, then we protect our water!
A good comparison of what awareness of water quality means is our rich supply of food. We live with an abundance of food that is also subject to a wide range of controls. I can consume everything even from the discount supermarket without becoming immediately ill. The same applies to tap water. Nevertheless, the organic supermarket segment in Berlin has virtually exploded in recent years. Apparently, the normal offer is no longer good enough for us. So, if I subjectively decide for myself that the quality of food in the supermarket is not sufficient for me, and instead want to consume higher-quality food, I go to the organic store. There, I buy food without pesticides or genetic engineering that has fewer pollutants. So, I choose a higher standard for myself than the norm. Then, of course, it no longer makes sense to use tap water, and I also have to set my own standards for drinking water. Here, I have two options. Either I buy high-quality spring water in a glass bottle from the organic store, or I get a water filter and treat my tap water myself.
Is bottled water an alternative?
In general, it should be noted about bottled water that it is even less controlled than our tap water. Therefore, it doesn't matter how expensive or cheap any water from the supermarket is. It is almost always worse than the water from the tap. Exceptions are some spring waters from glass bottles, which you can usually get in the organic market. However, you usually have to invest one euro per liter for this. If you now also want to cook your pasta with good water, it becomes quite expensive. In addition, the environment is burdened by transport and bottling, and you have the effort of lugging the water home. Plastic bottles put even more strain on the environment and also worsen the water quality in the bottle by releasing substances such as plasticizers. Mineral water from plastic bottles is
therefore not an alternative for a conscious and sustainable lifestyle and should disappear completely from life. We are currently far from that: In America alone, so many plastic bottles are consumed every week that, lined up, they would reach around the globe five times. In response, San Francisco was the first city in the world in 2015 to ban water from disposable plastic bottles under 600 milliliters. I see this as an important step that Berlin, as a trendy city, should also follow.
All this shows: It is much more sustainable and intelligent to treat the already available tap water in such a way that it corresponds to good spring water from the bottle. Moreover, you can't get good water any cheaper.
The biological quality of water
So far, we have talked about pollutants, i.e., substances in the water. Now, the energetic component comes into play. An apple, for example, is a ripe food when it has grown on an untreated tree in the meadow under natural conditions. If the tree lets the apple fall, nature has decided that this apple has now completed its ripening process and I can eat it. Where do we find the equivalent for this process in water? According to Viktor Schauberger (1885-1958), the Austrian water researcher, spring water corresponds exactly to the ripe apple. Spring water leaves the womb of Mother Nature on its own as a fresh spring. It has completed its growth process and is ripe to be drunk. It is precisely about this special power of “rpening” when one speaks of spring water. It has completely different physical properties than conventional tap water.
Such biologically active water is much better able to transport nutrients and vital substances, detoxify the body, supply the cells with water, and transmit electrical impulses in the body than tap or bottled water.4 A vivid comparison here would be the craftsman I order to my home. I would certainly find it pleasant if he came in clean work clothes. However, it is much more important to me whether he knows what to do and whether he works properly. In relation to water, this means: When filtering, it is not only the cleanliness of the water that matters, but also its functionality. So, it is not only about the chemical but also about the physical consideration. Because: Just because I filter tap water does not mean that it is healthy spring water. It is simply clean tap water. When filtering, I must also make sure that I do not disturb the functionality of the water. So, if I take my craftsman again and put him in a trendy pinstripe suit, for example, he looks well-dressed, but is completely ill-equipped for his work. Likewise, I don't make him a doctor if I put him in a doctor's coat.
Water revitalization
The revitalization of water therefore means bringing it into an energetically better state so that it has the same physical properties as natural spring water in nature. Other terms for this are energizing, swirling, dynamizing, and magnetizing. Although these methods differ significantly in their approach and in the result for the body, they usually mean the same thing.
Water treatment is about finding a healthy balance between cleaning and revitalization. To illustrate this, modern science helps us. Quantum physics in particular teaches us that there is no solid matter in itself. There is only energy in different forms of vibration. Therefore, there is also no pollutant, but only a vibration that needs to be eliminated. However, this could lead to the false impression that any filtering is superfluous and that any substance can be energetically neutralized. There is some truth to this statement, but the question is where the limit lies. Although I am aware that, from a quantum physics perspective, the table is not there, but only energy that vibrates, it still hurts when I bump into it. Therefore, my recommendation when choosing water treatment is to pay the main attention to the functionality, i.e., how well the water can do its job in the body, and at the same time not to neglect filtering. That is why, when filtering, I choose a variant that offers me reliable protection against the most important pollutants, but does not negatively affect the physical properties of the water.
Personal responsibility is required
Why can't the waterworks offer water of this quality right away?
Even if the waterworks could treat the water in such a way that it no longer contains any microtraces of undesirable substances, the effort would not be economically justifiable, because the majority of the water goes to industry and agriculture. Only about five percent of the tap water comes into direct contact with us at all. The high costs for treatment would therefore be unnecessary. In addition, there are the long water supply networks and old house pipes, through which substances can also get back into the water. It therefore makes much more sense for end consumers to take responsibility themselves and only improve the amount of water that they actually consume. It is simply the cheapest for everyone involved. It can also guarantee the best possible quality, as a fine filter is attached directly before extraction and the water can no longer be deteriorated afterwards, provided a high-quality faucet is used. In this way, we could enter into a cooperation with the water companies and at the same time secure stable water prices and protect our environment sustainably.
Another problem for the end consumer is that the health-positive physical properties in the water are also lost when we press it under high pressure through long, right-angled pipe systems. It simply does not correspond to the natural dynamics of water to move in this way. The water suppliers cannot do anything about this either. Because no city would be able to build a supply network that brings the water naturally in a meandering form to – let's take the example of Berlin – around 3.6 million people. We live in a polar world and everything has two sides. Therefore, it is important to be aware of the great advantage that the modern world brings with it, and at the same time to be mindful of the possible disadvantages that arise by law, and to act accordingly.
Various filter systems for different applications
How can I rid my tap water of unwanted substances? There are different methods of cleaning the water. Here, I would like to go into the two most common ones. First of all, it should be noted that every technique has its justification and there is no right or wrong. We live in Berlin and of course have to master the Berlin tap water with its challenges. If we lived in Mexico City, the procedure to be used would certainly be different.
1) Filtration with activated carbon
Activated carbon is an insufficient word when describing filter methods, because it only describes the material used in the filter, not its processing and fineness. For example, there are granular filters (jug filters) in which the activated carbon is only in a container as bulk carbon, i.e., as small beads, and the water seeps through it. These filters differ completely in their properties from solid block filters with a defined fineness. So, if some manufacturers, for example of osmosis filter devices, claim that an activated carbon filter cannot remove drug residues, then the statement is only correct insofar as one limits oneself to granular filters in the consideration. In the following, therefore, the activated carbon block filter should be considered, as this is the safest.
Such a filter has two central characteristics. First, it has a certain pore size. If these pores are very small, bacteria, asbestos, microplastics and much more can be retained.
The second special characteristic of an activated carbon filter is its adsorption capacity (not to be confused with absorption). This means that organic compounds chemically react with the surface and remain “stuck” there. This happens via the molecularly effective Van der Waals forces. This means that all C-H (carbon and hydrogen) compounds are adsorbed on the surface of the activated carbon. These include medicines, pesticides, hormones, and other substances. In principle, almost all organic substances, including glyphosate. However, for this reaction to take place, two parameters must work together to determine the degree of adsorption: surface area and contact time. The larger both are, the better the adsorption. Cartridges that have the same fineness but differ in flow rate have different adsorption rates. Specifically, this means that it is better if an activated carbon cartridge delivers less water per minute than more. This is often misinterpreted. Activated carbon does not filter hormones and medicines, it adsorbs them, and this takes time.
Sterile does not equal healthy
Many activated carbon filters on the market advertise additional safety through UV radiation and/or the addition of silver. However, this bacteriological safety changes the water quality to such an extent that it is no longer optimal for the human body. Just consider how healthy water can be if it has been treated by a system in such a way that no microorganisms can survive in it. We ourselves are living beings made up of countless cell structures. Important bacteria live in our intestines. This is where the water is absorbed, and it must not disturb our intestinal flora. Water should therefore not be sterile. It is much more natural to design a filter in such a way that harmful bacteria cannot pass through it, but at the same time the water remains able to harbor microorganisms. This also gives you the security of not drinking the bacteria. Because a system that kills bacteria does not remove them, and you drink, in the truest sense, “bacterial corpses” with their decomposition products.
In Germany, the company Carbonit manufactures the best available activated carbon block filters using a patented process. Unlike American and Asian models, these are not pressed but baked. This creates a completely different structure
and density of the filter. These filters are so fine that all particles up to a size of 0.45 μm cannot pass through the filter. These include microplastics and bacteria. The bacterial safety has also been confirmed by the independent University of Bielefeld in a long-term study. All this without silver, chemicals or UV radiation.
What can activated carbon do, and what can't it? Activated carbon can filter everything that is of organic origin and also retain heavy metals, lead, copper, and chlorine. Special combination cartridges can also filter viruses, mercury, and arsenic. On the other hand, nitrates, fluorides, sulfates, phosphates, and minerals cannot be filtered. It is important to know that if you want to filter out one of the above substances, you must remove everything from the water. Including the minerals. I have discussed the importance of minerals in water and the question of whether they can be metabolized in the human organism at all in detail in an article published on our website. Therefore, due to the limited scope of the article, I can only summarize here that minerals determine the taste and character of the water and stabilize its pH value.
Reverse osmosis: Everything must go
Therefore, we come back to the initial question. What do I want to filter and where do I want to filter? In Berlin, according to both the waterworks and our own investigations, there are few to no microtraces of nitrates, fluorides, sulfates, and phosphates in the tap water. The challenges in Berlin are predominantly residues from old pipes, lead, and pharmaceuticals. Lead in particular has been proven to damage the brain, but can be safely filtered out with a tested activated carbon filter. Therefore, in my opinion, it makes no sense to sterilize the water by demineralizing it – as with a reverse osmosis system.
2) Filtration with reverse osmosis (RO)
Reverse osmosis technology has all the above-mentioned filter performance of activated carbon, but also removes all minerals, trace elements, and the above-mentioned pollutants from the water. However, reverse osmosis works completely differently than an activated carbon cartridge. ROs also have an activated carbon pre-filter, but this is mainly used to protect the membrane and remove the chlorine from the water that would damage the membrane. The water is then pressed through a membrane that is so fine that only water molecules and gases can pass through it. The result is almost distilled water with a low pH value. Here we come back to the question of what kind of water we want to produce with our filter technology. Is spring water identical to distilled water? No, certainly not. If we look at spring water in nature, then the character of the spring water is stored in the minerals. A spring water from Italy has geologically different minerals than a spring water from Austria or Norway. One has more minerals, the other less, but all have some. Minerals make up the character and taste of water. If I remove the minerals from the water, I remove its body. In addition, important frequency patterns are stored in the minerals, which the water needs from an energetic point of view.
A spring water from the mountains filtered with an RO does not differ from a clarified water filtered with an RO, because everything has been removed. This technology comes from space travel. An astronaut has only a limited amount of
water with him during his stay in space and must treat everything, including his excrement, so that he can drink it again. This is possible with an RO. However, we are not astronauts. If we want to bring our Berlin tap water to an original spring water quality, then it needs minerals. Berlin generally has good groundwater, so demineralization would be equivalent to castration of the water and is the equivalent of sterilization by UV radiation. Therefore, my clear recommendation is to only use an RO if the pollutants in the water that an activated carbon filter cannot remove exceed the specified limits. And that has not been the case in Berlin so far, as long as I use the tap water.
Healthy through healthy water
In summary, it can be said that the water in Berlin has a fairly high standard. The mineral content in the Berlin soil is good, and removing the minerals from the water would remove all trace elements. The focus of modern, holistic water treatment should be on energization, as the functional component is decisive and not the chemical purity. There are various efficient revitalization methods here, such as the UMH technology from Austria. In combination with a high-quality activated carbon filter, I can enjoy the quality of soft and fresh spring water in Berlin, which is in no way inferior to the most expensive spring waters from the organic food store. When choosing a suitable filter, it is important to have meaningful reports shown to you. You should not blindly rely on any information provided by the manufacturers.
As long as I am not using a water filter, it is important to let the tap water run until it is completely cold. This way I have the certainty that any pollutants from the house line have drained away and I get fresh water from the waterworks. In addition, the water is always cool and I save myself from storing the water in the refrigerator in the summer.
Our body consists of around 70 percent water. It is our main building material and is involved in all metabolic processes. For me, healthy water is the most important investment in a healthy and conscious life.
About the author:
Thomas Hartwig is a certified nutritional consultant and the founder of LEOGANT. For many years, he has been deeply involved with the element of water. He is a respected keynote speaker and guest on podcasts, where he shares his knowledge and experience. In his work, he combines insights from natural science and medicine with philosophical approaches to contribute to a holistic water awareness.
References
Here, only prescription drugs are taken as a basis for pollutants as an approximate value. Of course, this is not entirely correct, as many drugs use similar active ingredients. This number is difficult to determine. In total, there are over 100,000 approved drugs, about half of which are prescription drugs.
A role for water in cell structure. J. G.Watterson. Biochem J. 1987 Dec 1; 248(2): 615–617.
Role of hydration water in protein unfolding. G W Robinson and C H Cho. Biophys J. 1999 Dec; 77(6): 3311–3318.
Hexagonal Water: The Key to Health. Dr. Mu Shik Jhon and M J Pangman, MobiWell; Edition: 1 (April 1, 2008)